1. Field
The described technology generally relates to a battery management system.
2. Description of the Related Technology
In general, vehicles using gasoline, diesel oil or LPG as fuel generate a large quantity of carbon dioxide emissions which pollute the atmosphere and induce global warming, thereby damaging the global environment. Accordingly, research has been actively conducted on hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) having low emissions or electric vehicles (EV) having zero emissions.
An HEV is powered by an electric motor, which uses electricity supplied from a main battery via a power conversion circuit as a driving source, as well as an internal combustion engine. Further, an HEV may be operated so as to improve the fuel efficiency of the vehicle to a high degree according to a driving situation.
The HEV motor is switched between a driving mode and a generation mode through the control of a motor control unit (MTCU) when the vehicle is braked or decelerated. At this time, the main battery is charged by the electric energy generated from a generator (or driving motor) under the control of a battery management system (BMS) connected to the MTCU. The current applied to the main battery from the generator may vary and even be discontinuous according to driving conditions.
To reach an appropriate degree of performances, the number of battery cells gradually increases, and the BMS must be capable of effectively managing the various battery cells.